Page 48 of Midnight of Ashes
Maddox let out a low growl as his arms came around me, and he crushed me to his chest.
I hated putting those images in his mind, but he needed to know that there were so many worse fates than ending up with five people who cared about me. It might be to varying degrees, but they weren’t trying to hurt me or force me to do anything against my will.
Maddox nuzzled my neck. “I need you safe, Mo Ghràidh.”
“I am,” I whispered.
The door to the study opened, and Nolan strode inside, glaring at us. “There is still an event going on, and Hayden’s presence is required.”
Another growl built in Maddox’s throat. But I squeezed his shoulder hard as I climbed off his lap. “Nolan’s right. Let’s get the idiot games over with.”
“Watch it,” Nolan snarled.
Maddox rose, baring his teeth. “As far as I know, speaking the truth isn’t a punishable offense. Unless you’re planning a military state I don’t know about.”
Nolan’s jaw clenched. “Just get in there.”
Without another word, he stormed out.
“Well, that was fun,” I mumbled. “His face always looks like he just sat on a porcupine.”
Maddox choked on a laugh. “That’s certainly an image.”
“Poor porcupine.”
“Poor porcupine, indeed,” Maddox agreed.
As we started for the door, Maddox slid his hand into mine. My gaze jerked up to his face.
He glanced down at me. “I’ll mess this up. But if you want, I’ll try. I can only be your friend while you’re my student. But I’ll try.”
Hope blazed through my chest, extinguishing the flickers of disappointment at the word friend. “I’d like that.”
Maddox squeezed my hand and led me down the hall.
The moment we reached the party, we were surrounded by the guys, each of them peppering us with questions. But Cillian was silent, his focus zeroing in on our joined hands. The corners of his mouth tipped up, trying to pull into a smile, but the movement looked rusty.
Maddox glanced over his shoulder, and I followed his line of sight to the Corbetts. Hal was glowering at us while Dexter angrily whispered something into another man’s ear.
Maddox turned back to our group. “Dexter cornered Hayden in the hallway.”
Low growls and snarls filtered through the air around us. Smoke curled out of Cáel’s nostrils, and, as if he couldn’t take it anymore, he hauled me against his chest. “Okay. You’re okay.” He whispered the words over and over again.
My chest squeezed, and I hugged him hard. “I’m fine.”
Knox and Easton sent a worried look our way as I pulled Cáel’s shirt free and slipped in a hand to give him skin-to-skin contact.
Maddox lowered his voice, pitching it in Cillian’s direction. “We’re going to have to get creative finding a way home. I’d guess they have traps waiting.”
25
HAYDEN
We were the first people out the door the moment the cocktail party ended. Instead of the limo waiting, there were three large SUVs. A dozen enforcers milled around the vehicles, scanning the surrounding forests for any sign of attack.
Terry strode forward and handed Cillian a set of keys. “They’re in the forest outside our territory.”
Cillian let out a low growl. “We won’t be able to avoid war for long.”
